RIIA shorts is a collection of 10 animators who live and work in the state of Rhode Island and work within the short film format. The collection of films range from purely experimental, to narratives driven by poetry and metaphysics.
Pendulum, 2017, 1:17, animated and directed by Daniel Sousa. Sound design by Dan Golden. Daniel approaches filmmaking from a painter’s perspective, focusing on the fragility of fleeting moments, memories and perceptions.
The floating hope of the winged elephantine, 2019, 10:15. Animated and directed by Mara Trachtenberg. Sound design by Peter Scartabello. This film features winged elephants from Trachtenberg's photographs of an imaginary world and is based on the Myth of Sisyphus. The animation contemplates the frustration and beauty of the creative process.
Anonymous, 2020, 5:14, animated and directed by Steven Subotnick. A short film about a young man who sifts through the mysteries of life unknown
Whole, 2019, 5:37, animated and directed by Emily London. This is an experimental stop-motion exploration into the rings of memory that live beneath the surface of a home. The illusion of movement is created using zoetropes which are comprised of small sculptures resting around the edge of a record.
When planets mate, 2019, 10:31, animated by Riley Thompson and Joel Orloff. Directed by Riley Thompson. Explore the origins of life and humanity's quest for transcendental knowledge while voyaging through a psychonautic world melded from biology and Hindu myth.
Unsheltered, 2021, 6:21. A young boy tragically loses both his parents and forced to grow up fast, learning from his nomadic experiences how to be independent and build his own life.
Special Features:
The ecstatics, 2017, 3:12, animated and directed by Haley Morris; Shape and Shadow Studio. This is an animated video for the band, Explosions in the Sky.
Negative Space, 2017, 5:30, animated and directed by Ru Kuwahata and Max Porter. Produced by IKKI films and Manuel Cam Studios in France. Based on a 150-word poem by Ron Koertge, “Negative Space" is a short animated film that depicts a father-and-son relationship through the art of packing a suitcase.
Forgiveness, 2020, 2:53. An experimental film/projection with spoken word that addresses the concept of "breath" during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Director, painter and writer---Lauren Mantecón; with Animation and video contributions from Brian C O'Malley and audio contributions from John DeVault
*At the conclusion of the film (fin) attending animators will available for some Q&A
trailer to all the films with a brief introduction---it is entirely possible that there might be an addition or 2 throughout the summer